Your guide in choosing the best cordless vacuum

Main menu

Hoover is unveiling its latest cordless stick vacuum, the Unplugged that promises 60 minutes of uninterrupted run time, which would be a first in this niche. Which.co.uk got its hands on this and has released their test results(subscription needed to see the full review).

Not everyone can afford a Dyson, it’s expensive and some say that it’s way overpriced. In fact there are people who go as far as saying that it’s a piece of junk. Now if you can’t afford one or simply not willing to spend $400 for a cordless, let me offer you an alternative, two products actually, the Hoover Cordless Platinum series.

This tag-team from Hoover has some great features that when put together will rival that of a DC44 and make this one of the top cordless vacuum combo available right now. Let’s go over them one by one.

1. Hoover Linx Stick Vac

It is equipped with a brush roll plus edge bristles that’ll pick up dirt all the way to the edges. Most vacuums don’t have this capability and it is a big time saver because this eliminates the need to pick up a handheld just to clean crumbs off base boards.

It is equally capable on carpet but on thick shaggy ones it will struggle but remember that all cordless vacs struggle here one way or another.

It is bagless and the filter is washable so you save on the expense of buying bags and extra filters which is good for the environment too because bags are made from paper and it we all know that wood from trees are needed to produce these bags.

One downer though is that it can’t swivel so this limits its maneuverability somewhat but not too much because it is lightweight.

2. Hoover Platinum Handheld Pet

This handheld like its stick counterpart is bagless and has a washable filter. It comes with three attachments plus a pull out crevice tool, so you can pretty much clean any part of your home or car.

These attachments include:

A motorized power head brush roll.

An upholstery tool that doubles as a pet hair remover.

And there’s the dusting brush attachment.

The power head can be used on upholstery as well as stairs and because it has a beater bar inside, it will pick up dirt on both carpet and hard floor, even pet hair!

The upholstery tool is designed for upholstery but in a number of online reviews I read I found out that there is a design flaw that limits the usefulness of this tool, if there is too much pet hair, it tends to push it around instead of picking them up. So consumers would use the powerhead brushroll for pet hair instead of the upholstery tool.

The brush tool is great for picking up dust on windows and vents. The crevice tool is for crevices (duh) and can be folded back if it isn’t needed.

As an added bonus, you can swap batteries between these two products, pretty sweet deal if you ask me because it gives you more options on how you’ll use these products. Yet another reason to get this combo.

When combined the price of these two still is over a hundred dollars cheaper than a Dyson and still comes with a 2-year warranty so if you aren’t willing to spend $400 on a DC44 then take a long look at the Platinum Series at your local stores.

Here’s a sneak peak at the brand new product from Dyson – the Dyson Hard – engineered to clean and mop hard floors at the same time. It is scheduled to be released on September 3 this year at around $330 US. If you’re a Dyson fan and want to get first dibs at this hybrid mop/vacuum then head on over at Dyson’s website and sign up to be among the first to buy.

At first glance, this looks like a swiffer sweeper on steroids but it’s more than that – at the front and back of the wet wipe are suction ducts that suck in dust and dirt off hard floors, the wet wipe functions as a mop. According to Gizmodo the this will be compatible with other “industry standard wipes” but you can also purchase them directly from Dyson at $7 for a pack of 12.

Design wise this is similar to the Dyson DC44 Animal but unfortunately you can’t use the mop attachment on a DC44 and vice versa – so if own a DC44, you’d have to buy this separately or hope that James Dyson has a change of heart and releases a conversion kit.

Even with the improved battery technology and run time, there are still a lot of skeptics that say cordless vacuums are junk and not up to par with their corded siblings.

While they may have valid points, I don’t agree with their assessment that these types of vacuums are useless junk – you just have to manage your expectations and know the technology behind all this.

The best cordless vacuums have runtimes of around 15 to 45 minutes (some even up to an hour) which is enough time for that spot clean up chore its intended for. Charge times will range from 10 minutes to about 6 hours for lithium equipped models, and upwards of 16 hours for models with nickel cadmium batteries.

Much like cordless drills, you pay for portability – the ability to work without cords and if you ask me plugging and unplugging cords drive me crazy as well as untangling them. And if you have back pain, you’ll appreciate the lighter weight of these types of products because there’s no way I’ll lug around a 20 pound vacuum just to clean spilled cereal.

So what do I look for?

I suggest you look into getting one with a lithium battery than has a warranty of at least 2 years, you might be tempted to be a cheapskate and pick one below 50 bucks but for your sanity’s sake don’t. Chances are these products are equipped with old nickel cadmium batteries that don’t hold their charge very well and have notoriously short lifespans.

In the end you’ll end up spending more buying more vacuums because the original one broke after the warranty period.

For home owners with carpeted floors, you’ll still need your upright or canister for that periodic deep cleaning session and use the cordless for maintenance chores. If you own a home with hardwood floors, you may not need a full sized cleaner because modern cordless vacuums are powerful enough and last long enough to sweep up dirt on floors.

If quick pickups, consider a lightweight handheld that’s under 4 pounds that has a crevice, brush and pet hair attachments to clean a variety of messes.